• Home Modifications for People with Sensory Impairments
• Home Modifications for People with Motor Impairments
• Home Modifications for People with Dementia
• Home Modifications for People who are at Risk for Falls

These courses were made possible through a grant to I.D.E.A.S., Inc. through the National Institute of Health. Each course follows a similar format, with information about the various conditions that cause limitations or difficulties in performing everyday activities, and information about a range of environmental modifications that can be implemented to compensate for deficits. Click here for a summary of Home Modifications for People with Dementia.

The courses are valuable to individuals who provide any type of home evaluation, design, or construction service for seniors or people with disabilities, such as occupational therapists, physical therapists, home health care workers, case managers/social workers, builders/remodelers, architects and interior designers. The courses have also been taken by non-professionals who are simply interested in learning more about how to create supportive home environments.

All of the self-study courses are approved for nursing continuing education through the University of Southern California Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing.  Occupational Therapy contact hours are approved by Ohio Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, and Athletic Trainers Board.  The certificate program is approved as continuing education for CAPS professionals through National Association of Home Builders. Please check with your state or national association or board if you would like to know if the continuing education credit will be accepted. 

If you would like to earn continuing education through the American Speech-Language Hearing Association, please visit Northern Speech Services and take our courses through NSS.

If you would like to earn continuing education through the American Occupational Therapy Association, please visit Dynamic Learning Online and take our courses through the Dynamic Group.

Self Study
After purchasing the self- study course, you will receive an email containing a password that allows you to access the course anytime during a 90-day period. Complete all four courses and earn a Home Modifications Practitioners Program Certificate. Certificates for all courses will be mailed within 30 days of course completion. Students must acheive a score of 80% accuracy on the post test in order to earn CEUs. Students may take the post test as many times as they like.

Learning Objectives
• Define and discuss three diseases that cause low vision
• Identify three difficult visual situations in the home environment.
• Appropriately choose at least three home modifications that will help a client with low vision to be safer and more independent
• Define age-related hearing impairment
• Identify three difficult listening situations in the home environment
• Appropriately choose at least three home modifications that will help a client with hearing loss to be safer and more independent.

Home Modifications for People with Motor Impairments


In this course, you will learn how functional limitations in upper and lower body movement can impact a person’s ability to function safely, independently, or without difficulty in his/her home. You will also learn about the modifications that can compensate for these limitations. Professors in the class are Jon Sanford, M.Arch and Carrie Bruce, M.A., CCC-SLP, ATP.

Learning Objectives
• Become familiar with the contributions of impairments and body function to problems with task performance.
• Discuss the performance goals for reducing environmental demands on motor abilities.
• Identify modifications that can be made to ameliorate typical problems that people with upper and lower extremity and trunk impairments have with routine household tasks

Home Modifications for People with Dementia


This course is about home modification and how it relates to caregivers and people living in the household with dementia. Modifying the home environment to enhance safety, promote independence, and ease caregiving is increasingly recognized as an important strategy for dealing with dementia. Professors in this course are Margaret Calkins, PhD, Jon Sanford, M.Arch, and Jon Pynoos, PhD.

Learning Objectives
• Gain a better understanding of the role of the physical environment in supporting both the person with dementia and the caregiver
• Learn how the environment needs to change as the disease progresses
• Understand how to help the caregivers develop environmental coping strategies
• Learn practical solutions to real problems

Home Modifications for People Who are at Risk for Falls


This course discusses home modifications that can help individuals who are at risk for falls be safer and more independent in their home. Professors in this class are Anna Quyen Do Nguyen, OTD, OTR/L and Jon Pynoos, PhD.

Learning Objectives
• Identify the three key components of a well-rounded fall prevention program
• Classify fall risk factors as intrinsic, extrinsic, or behavioral
• Identify five design goals for individuals who fall and explain their relationships to fall prevention
• Identify general HM guidelines for individuals who fall